The present invention comprises a new and distinct verbena plant, botanically known as Verbena hybrida, and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name xe2x80x98Balazdapixe2x80x99.
The new cultivar was developed by the inventor through a controlled breeding program during 1998, at Arroyo Grande, Calif. The objective of breeding program was the development of verbena cultivars with semi-trailing mounded habit, continuous flowering, excellent basal branching and small, dark green foliage.
The female (seed) parent of xe2x80x98Balazdapixe2x80x99 was the commercially available seed verbena xe2x80x98Quartz Bluexe2x80x99 (unpatented), which exhibits dark purple flowers with white xe2x80x9ceyexe2x80x9d, upright growth habit and medium green foliage. The male (pollen) parent of xe2x80x98Balazdapixe2x80x99 was the commercially available verbena xe2x80x98Temari Violetxe2x80x99 (unpatented) which exhibits dark lavender flowers, a trailing growth habit and medium green foliage.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by terminal cuttings in Arroyo Grande, Calif. and West Chicago, Ill. has demonstrated that the characteristics of the new cultivar as herein described are firmly fixed and retained through successive generations of such asexual propagation.
It was found that the cultivar of the present invention:
(a) exhiits dark purple flowers,
(b) forms dark green serrate foliage,
(c) exhibits a good basal branching character and
(d) exhibits an upright mounded and trailing growth habit.
The new cultivar of the present invention can be compared to its male parent, xe2x80x98Temari Violetxe2x80x99. In side by side comparison, the new cultivar differs from the xe2x80x98Temari Violetxe2x80x99 cultivar by the following characteristics: it is found that the new cultivar has larger leaves, more flowers per inflorescence, petals that are more overlapping and flowers of a different color as detailed in Table A.
When the new cultivar of the present invention is compared to xe2x80x98Balazlavixe2x80x99 (co-pending U.S. Plant patent application Ser. No. 09/808,318), the new cultivar is distinguished from xe2x80x98Balazlavixe2x80x99 primarily in petal coloration. When the new cultivar of the present invention is compared to xe2x80x98Balwilapixe2x80x99 (co-pending U.S. Plant patent application Ser. No. 09/822,611), the new cultivar is distinguished from xe2x80x98Balwilapixe2x80x99 primarily in petal coloration.